Our Seventh year

September 2017 marked the start of our seventh year of volunteer work on Poets’ Walk. Following is a photographic record of our activities in reverse chronological order …

See also our second year (September 2012 – August 2013), our third year (September 2013 – August 2014), fourth year (September 2014 – August 2015), fifth year (September 2015 – August 2016 and our sixth year (September 2016 – 2017)

2018

September 2018

The seats and rock face along the coastal path are thoroughly tidied on a regular basis.

sorting useful stones from brick and cement rubble, rubbbish and nettle roots

the concrete standings fine swept of all broken glass

remains of the corrugated iron roofing sheets are found

More sorting of stones and rubble at Wain’s Hill battery site; litter picking and sweeping

August 2018

Wain’s Hill battery site – after the heatwave and some welcome rain, self-sown grass carpets the parade ground. Rubble is carried off site prior to collection by grab lorry.

The paths team say a big thank you to a passer-by (2nd from left) who stayed to work the whole afternoon and joined them for tea. Welcome again next time you’re in Clevedon!

cutting off sycamore shoots & grubbing bramble

clearing old brambles to enlarge the glade

the woodland glade cleared of invasive species

Follow-up scrub control in the Church Hill woodland glade behind Salthouse Flats

The coast path on Church Hill weeded, tidied and swept

Church Hill – weeding the green gate bank and clearing nettles in the nearby quarry glade

Hack’s Way tidied; nettles, brambles & feral raspberry pulled in Church Hill woodland glade; remaining dried grass raked off following tractor mowing; site of grass fire tidied.

the coast path at the badger bridge tidied and swept

The badger bridge and adjoining coast path is tidied and swept

Scything, raking and nettle pulling at the Church Hill zigzag path viewpoint. The North Somerset Council contractor mowed the tops of both hills by tractor on the same day.

July 2018

the coast path approaching the cemetery wall

The coast path is tidied and swept again – hot work this week!

pulling rose bay willow herb from grassland

After a prolonged heat wave Wain’s Hill plateau is dry and brown. A patch of invasive willow herb is pulled out before it can spread seed and new shoots of scrub trees cut out.

Completing the June cut on the Wain’s Hill ramparts. Small areas of the slope are left uncut as refuges for wild life and to allow wild flower species to set seed.

June 2018

Hack’s Way, public right of way from Old Church Road to Church Hill, strimmed & raked

rank grass and nettles scythed near the woodland edge

nettles dominate the vegetation in the shade of trees

nettles and rank grass are scythed while an area of better grassland is left uncut

Dense nettles and rank grass intertwined with cleavers (goosegrass) in the shade of trees at the stoney lower edge of the Wain’s Hill rampart present a challenge to the scythers.

The coast path near St Andrew’s Glebe field is routinely weeded, tidied and swept

a competing elder is removed from beside this curiously formed yew

elder shoots are cut from an old stump in the grassland

nettles remaining after scything are pulled by hand

Other work on the scythed Wain’s Hill slope includes cutting out elder and pulling nettles

The June cut starts on Wain's Hill rampart slope

The June cut starts on the Wain’s Hill rampart with a team of four scything. Three days later the dried cut vegetation is raked off and left as habitat piles in the woodland below.

May 2018

The path behind the cemetery allotments (foot of Wain’s Hill) cleared of vegetation

the green gate bank scythed & raked off, and path swept

scything grassland to keep rank species under control

a few more wild radish plants grubbed out

This bank beside St Andrew’s church wall is mown by scythe and raked off. Wild radish in nearby grassland has been successfully reduced by repeated grubbing and scything.

nettles forked out to allow other woodland species to flourish

Three large capping stones on the front wall of the Wain’s Hill battery are rebedded while the path to the battery site is cleared of encroaching grass & nettles, and widened.

Hack's Way mown & weeded and vegetation trimmed back

Hack’s Way, leading up to Church Hill from Old Church Road, mown and tidied

just a few more wild radish plants to grub out

grubbing out bramble roots, wild radish, thistles and nettles

Controlling invasive wild radish on ChurchHill; the population is now greatly reduced due to repeated grubbing out. Brambles, nettles and thistles also need to be controlled.

The path & round seat above Marine Lake and the steps to the lookout thoroughly tidied

grubbing out nettles and rebuilding the perimeter wall

watering a hessian cover after work to prevent too rapid drying out in sunshine

Wain’s Hill battery – rebuilding the perimeter wall with lime mortar and nettle grubbing

tree roots and antisocial behaviour have taken their toll on this other old wall

the tree stump removed and the heavy capping stone back in place

the loose stones bedded in and pointed with lime mortar

The tree stump is finally removed from the Wain’s Hill battery wall and the heavy capping stone levered back into place. Stones are replaced and bedded with lime mortar.

The steps to Salthouse Woods and the top path above Marine Lake weeded and swept

sorting stones and levelling the site prior to a partial rebuild

preparing a temporary fix by replacing dislodged stones

wall needing a permanent fix with mortar after removing an old tree stump

Preparing the Wain’s Hill battery site prior to fixing up the ruined perimeter wall, and temporarily replacing stones in the front wall damaged by recent antisocial behavior

April 2018

The paths, steps and seats above Marine Lake swept and tidied

litter picking and trimming back buddleia

a hawthorn growing in the wall is cut back

Clearing and tidying work resumes at the gun battery site on Wain’s Hill.

quarry face and slope partially cleared of ivy

Church Hill old quarry glade – exposing some of the rock face to sunlight to promote establishment of wild flower and grass species. More trimming will be done in autumn.

sunlight returns to this re-created viewpoint

felling a sycamore - creating new seating for a picnic area

tidying scattered brash into habitat piles

Forking out nettles from the green gate bank beside St Andrew’s churchyard wall and enhancing the wooded area around the old NW-facing quarry opposite the churchyard

March 2018

sycamore shoots arising from stumps need to be cut back

cutting back vigorous bramble shoots from the grassland

a view is restored after removing one small elder

Sycamore regrowth & encroaching bramble shoots are cut back at the edge of grassland on Wain’s Hill and a view to Clevedon Pier is improved by removing a small elder.

tidying the path edge and trimming back bramble shoots

digging out bramble roots at the edge of the grassland

Church Hill – tidying the edge of the formal path and clearing a few marginal brambles

trailing ivy cut back to expose the rock face

Dense trailing ivy is cut back to expose the bank and rock face along the coast path to encourage the establishment of wild flowers and grasses by increasing the sunlight.

Improving grassland on Church Hill by grubbing out wild radish

Further enhancing a view from Church Hill by removing three self-set sycamore

February 2018

brambles and ivy cut back along the coast path

brambles etc. cut back along the coast path

Brambles and ivy cut back beside the coast path below Church Hill

a remaining patch of scrub cleared and elder trimmed

a young hazel is given more light by cutting back elder

More light is let into the woodland below the Wain’s Hill rampart slope by cutting out some misshapen sycamore, clearing some scrub and trimming back elder

Reducing the height of old ivy-clad elder trees to rejuvinate them by promoting bushy growth, thereby improving this thicket on Church Hill as a wildlife habitat

Steps and paths near the churchyard weeded and swept

preparing to top hawthorn to promote bushy growth

A south-facing woodand glade on Church Hill is extended by clearing back more bramble. Tall hawthorns growing among ash trees are topped to promote bushier growth.

Church Hill – controlling the spread of an old bramble patch into grassland and thinning self-set ash saplings to enhance a woodland glade

The badger bridge and coastal path towards Church Hill tidied and swept

January 2018

Work around the holly tree continues in St Andrew’s churchyard

The coastal path, seats and rock face are routinely tidied, weeded and swept

Thirteen volunteers were involved in clearing brambles and ivy from around the graves in St Andrew’s churchyard.

Tea break turned out to be a birthday celebration with cake!

cutting brambles and the lowest holly branches

Uncovering old graves in St Andrew’s churchyard by cutting back a large holly tree

the lowest hanging branches to be removed to allow light and access below

Enhancing the ramparts & woodland on Wain’s Hill by managing sycamore

December 2017

Digging out remaining nettles and brambles in woodland glades on Church Hill

The paths & steps beside Marine Lake tidied and swept before a Marlens weekend event

cutting out sycamore at the woodland edge

Thinning out sycamore enhances woodland and reveals a sunset view from Church Hill

November 2017

Church Hill path cleared of autumn leaves and mud

The path along the south flank of Church Hill cleared of autumn leaves and mud

tree thinning allows more light to the glade

Self-set sycamores have obscured the view from Church Hill to the west; tree thinning reveals the view once more and enhances the woodland habitat by allowing in light.

A hedge of old brambles is cleared from the path edge near St Andrew’s to improve access for the contractor’s tractor and to allow low growing wild species to flourish on the bank.

Autumn leaves and mud are swept off Wain’s Hill paths to minimise the slip hazard

bramble, feral raspberry & nettle control in the woodland glade (Marine Lake glimpsed behind)

the woodland glade behind the Salthouse Flats

Church Hill – follow-up scrub control in the woodland glade behind Salthouse Flats by pulling feral raspberries and nettles and grubbing out remaining brambles

the paths near the cemetery tidied and swept

The coast path and the adjoining path beside the cemetery tidied and swept

removing tree shoots to preserve the view

Church Hill – scything the grass at the view point above the zigzag path, pulling nettles and cutting out tree shoots to preserve the view to the Pier and beyond

autumn leaves are swept from the steps above Marine Lake

The steps and path above Marine Lake are thoroughly swept of autumn leaves.

strimming the last section of the Wain's Hill rampart

The last and steepest section of the Wain’s Hill rampart slope is mechanically trimmed.

October 2017

Work continues along the coastal path, and the well known badger bridge gets a thorough tidy up.

the cut grass is taken down into the woodland and heaped into habitat piles

pulling remaining nettles after raking off mown grass

this yew tree is a special feature of the slope

After scything the Wain’s Hill rampart slope the arisings are left to dry for a few days, then raked off and left as habitat piles to rot down in the woodland below. Remaining nettles are pulled by hand. A curiously grown yew tree adds interest to the slope.

late summer scything starts again on Wain's Hill

Green mantle contractors strimming the species-rich bank

The tops of both hills are mown annually by tractor

2nd October – we’re all out a-mowing!

September 2017

the triangle and edges mown beside St Andrew's

Hack's Way mown and overhanging brambles trimmed

An old petrol mower is useful for keeping small semi-formal areas tidy.

path to Salthouse carpark beside Salthouse Flats

The formal path from Church Hill to Salthouse Fields and carpark weeded and swept

raking off the half dried arisings 3 days after scything

Late summer scything starts on Church Hill on a slope too steep for tractor mowing. The arisings are left to dry for 3 days and then raked off and left as habitat piles in the scrub.